Remilitarizing surplus arms

[Joe Boleo]

One of my favorite projects involves returning sporterized surplus arms to their original condition. Sometimes this is an easy venture and often may not be possible or practical. There were so many surplus rifles that were modified that this can go on for years. Sporterized military rifles tend to be real bargains and once returned to their "as issued" condition tend to go up significantly in value.

The list of restored rifles includes: U.S. 1917 Enfields, 1903 and 1903-A3 Springfields, German Model 98 Musers, Italian Carcanos and British Enfields. A collector might be critical of these efforts, but most surplus rifles were reworked or rebuilt over the course of their military service. I am working on a 1905 Ross that is a real challenge finding the parts to complete its restoration. Take care...
Joe

[Gil Martin]

Sounds like you are really into this stuff. Post some pictures if you can. All the best...
Gil

[Adam Helmer]

Joe,

I have restored quite a few old military arms. Most arms merely had the stock forends cutoff and the handguards discarded. I found restoration was successful so long as no metal was cut.

As you point out, "sporterized" arms are usually real bargains.

Adam